Donald
Cerrone and Benson
Henderson made it difficult to argue against the WEC’s
continued existence Saturday: their headlining fight at the
promotion’s 43rd event in San Antonio packed more action into 25
minutes than Michael Bay could manage in 120. (Actual running time
of “Transformers 2”:
over four hours. Look it up.)

Years removed from first-generation guard work -- where opponents
might actually take short naps right along with viewers --
Henderson spent much of his early activity posturing up and looking
for ways to end the fight with his fists; Cerrone used his rangy 6’
frame to tie Henderson up in knots of submissions. Often, he’d coil
up his long legs, shoot them out like they were powered by
hydraulics, and send Henderson flying across the ring. It was
2009’s most entertaining fight to date, stained only by a contested
judges’ decision -- officials valued Henderson’s work from the top
over Cerrone’s submission attempts.

There’s little argument Henderson’s control and strikes took rounds
two and three, or that Cerrone turned on his ignition for four and
five. Round one was the deciding factor: Henderson spent roughly
1:30 getting strangled and 2:00 in Cerrone’s guard landing shots.
(The remaining 1:30 of the round was more or less a wash.) Which of
those feats you consider to be more important determines who you
think won the fight. For my money, whoever comes closer to ending
the evening early deserves the favoritism -- and a nice, tight
triangle is more promising than strikes that you can’t put your
hips into.

Debatable? Maybe. Robbery? Not by any stretch. But if any fight
should be considered a draw in principle, this would be it.

Next for Henderson: A unification match
for the WEC’s lightweight title against frequently hobbled Jamie
Varner.

Next for Cerrone: According to WEC
matchmaker Sean Shelby,
another fight or two before jumping back into a title bid.

Awards

The
Nobody-Under-the-Age-of-60-Will-Get-Your-Nickname Award:Dave
“the Fugitive” Jansen, in homage to actor David Janssen’s work
as wrongfully accused Richard Kimble in 1963’s “Fugitive”
television series. I desperately hope we get a good fighter named
Fred Mertz, and soon.

The “You Okay, Dude?” Compassion Award:
The referee of the Rich
Crunkilton/Jansen bout, who reacted to an inadvertent nut shot
and a fetal-position fighter with the bedside manner of Keanu
Reeves.

The Anything-is-Possible Award:Mackens
Semerzier, a one-year rookie who was expected to get turned
into ground chuck at the hand of jiu-jitsu black belt Wagnney
Fabiano but submitted Fabiano with a triangle choke instead.
You just don’t know until you try.

Etc…
UFC chair Lorenzo Fertitta instructed the WEC to
award both Cerrone and Henderson $20,000 each in bonus money,
doubling the usual take; Semerzier took home $10,000 for his
implausible win…Both observers and participants were split on the
main event: Cerrone believes Henderson won, while Jamie Varner
thought Cerrone edged out a victory…Record for spinning back kicks
landed in a single fight probably now belongs to Yves
Jabouin, who lit up the torso of Raphael
Assuncao en route to a decision loss. Frank Dux will not be
happy.